Patriarch Kirill’s birthday greetings to Metropolitan Jonah

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia congratulates the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America on his 50th birthday. Source: Moscow Patriarchate.

Metropolitan Jonah (left) and Patriarch Kirill in Moscow

Your Beatitude,

Beloved Brother and Concelebrant in the Lord:

I wholeheartedly greet and congratulate you on the your 50th birthday.

On this day, I lift up an ardent prayer to God for you and remember with warmth the moments of our fraternal fellowship during your official visit to the Russian Orthodox Church, which enabled us to experience once again the spiritual and historical kindred of our two Churches.

Your jubilee is a feast not only for the Orthodox Church in America but also for the Moscow Patriarchate tied with the life of the American Orthodox by historical bonds.

May the Lord Who has place on you the heavy burden of primatial service of the Orthodox Church in America bless your primatial efforts and multiply and strengthen your God-loving flock. I prayerfully wish you good health and inexhaustible spiritual joy for many good years.

Comments

That was an inspiring note that Patriarch Kirill of Russia sent to Metropolitan Jonah, spiritual leader of the Orthodox Church in America, in recognition of his 50th birthday.

If Metropolitan Jonah continues to accomplish as much as he has during his first year as Metropolitan of the OCA, I can foresee many positive reforms that will benefit the OCA — as well as the other Orthodox jurisdiction in America — on the horizon.